Act 3

• Act 3 Scene 3

  Iago-

  "She did deceive her father, marrying you."
• Explanation: 

  Iago uses Desdemona’s past actions to imply that she is capable of deceit. This manipulative statement makes Othello begin to question her loyalty, contributing to his growing jealousy and distrust.
• Act 3 Scene 3

  Othello-

  "Excellent wretch, perdition catch my soul!"
• Explanation:

  Oxymoron shows conflicted emotions . Perdition means damnation and could be showing there is war between love as well as being used as a setting for the play, and so Othello is questioning as the two aspects of his life are becoming intertwined. This is also foreshadowing for the ending.
• Act 3 Scene 4

  Othello-

  "The handkerchief! The handkerchief!" 
• Explanation: 

  The handkerchief, a token of Othello’s love, becomes symbolic of Desdemona’s supposed betrayal. Its loss convinces Othello of her unfaithfulness, despite its triviality, demonstrating how jealousy distorts his perception.
• "I never knew a Florentine more kind and honest"
• Explanation:

  Act 3 Scene 1 Cassio: dramatic irony created at the extent thag Iago has been able to decieve the entire character list. He has fooled every, the audience watch helplessly incapable of stopping the inevitable events to come.
• "Well, my good lord, I'll do't"
• Act 3 Scene 2 Iago: This is an extremely short Scene but rather humorous and comical. The audience have been accustomed to the powerful Iago as he has increasingly dominated the script with his soliloquies and dialogues, however here among other Venetians it is evident that in reality, Iago is incredibly subservient and below Othello. Highlights the advantage he is in being in a foreign country where no one will recognise his deceit and see through his plan.
• "I'll watch him tame and talk him out of patience His bed shall be his school, his board a shrift""I'll intermingle everything he does with Cassio's suit""Thy solicitor shall rather die than give away thy cause away"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Desdemona: Desdemona is slowly unwittingly aiding towards her own tragic downfall through her continuous attempts to interrogate Othello over Cassio. The repeated use of the interrogatives and orders reveal the extent of Desdemona's innocence, as she Is unaware of the distress and jealousy she could cause. Effectively, it is Desdemona's flaws of trust and naivety that contribute to her death, flaws that were created in order to highlight how the traditional Elizabethan values relating to women were inappropriate in a real world situation.
• Iago with line breaks:"Ha! I like not that""Nothing my lord; or if - I know not what""No, sure I cannot think that he would steal away so guilty-like"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Iago: This is the turning point of the play, often known as the scene of temptation as well see Iago tease and taunt Othello with suggestions of Desdemona's infidelity, tempting him into a state of jealous rage. The sneering tone of Iago's "Ha! immediately garners interest from Othello as Iago's use of the word "Guilty" and "steal" creates negative images of the behaviour between Desdemona and Cassio.
• The seed of doubt has been planted with the deceptively short and simple opening line, their honesty is no match for his duplicity. His pauses and hesitations are expressions and feelings too powerful to be exposed.
• "Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul But I do love thee, and when I love thee not, chaos is come again"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Othello: Othello expresses his deep love for Desdemona in this exclamation. The word "perdition," meaning Hell, comes from the Latin perdere ,which means "to put completely to destruction." He is therefore expressing that he loves her boundlessly, even to the point where his love for her threatens his own soul. Throughout the play, there are many references to Hell and the Devil, incarnated in the character of Iago. He is able to manipulate Othello through his intense love of Desdemona, and indeed leads him and others to destruction by play's end.
• Later in the quote, we see the word "chaos," which is an interesting word. This is, in fact, what happens when Othello ceases to love Desdemona. Othello's words are prophetic here, and they foreshadow what his life will become as he descends into the madness of jealousy. Iago is ultimately the catalyst that causes this chaos to erupt.
• "Honest, my lord?" "Think, my lord?"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Iago: This scene could be portrayed as quite comedic as through merely the use of repetition he is able to create jealousy from Othello. The manipulation Iago deploys in this scene is so effective highlights his intelligence as a Machiavellian villain. The repetitions, use of hesitations and withholding information shown in the text through the use of caesuras show the extent of Iago's villainy.
• This scene could be depicted in many ways. Othello could be seem as desperate to unveil Iago's though however at the same time, he could be enacted as submissive towards the information that Iago is showing.
• "My lord, you know I love you"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Iago: From this dialogue the reader can assume that Iago has Othello completely fooled on the nature of their relationship. Iago loathes Othello and only intends to manipulate him for selfish purposes, but has masked this hatred with superficial loyalty and adornment. He continues to strive for the effect of honesty.
• "O beware my lord, of jealousy: it is the green eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Iago: This is one of the most incredibly important and haunting quotes in the entire play, as Shakespeare personifies jealousy with such destructive language to create evil imagery among the audience. The fact that this metaphor creates connotations of diseases and parasitical organisms that benefit by deriving nutrients at other's expense highlights to an audience the corruption that is taking place in Othello's mind, as his state of mind is tragically currently becoming infected by Iago's lies.
• Furthermore, the fact that to a contemporary Shakespearean audience where dying from illnesses such as epidemics from the plague were increasingly common, highlights the destructive elements of this quote, as they would have ben well aware of the death and tragedy it could create. The phrase originated from the idea that when a person was sick, their skin turned a yellow or green colour. In addition, unripe fruit (which will make you sick when you eat it) is also the colour green.
• "O misery!"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Othello: This plaintive wail emphasis the inner turmoil of Othello's state of mind as he is unsure of what to believe. The audience is soon losing sight of the self-assured and confident man and warrior they were aware of at the beginning of the play. The tragic loss of identity is starting to begin here.
• "Nor from my weak merits will I draw The smallest fear or doubt of her revolt. For she had eyes and chose me"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Othello: Although on the outside it seems as if Othello is rising above the feelings of jealousy that Iago is trying to corrupt him with, his statement is incredibly absurd because it seems unrealistic, the fact that Othello speaks these words out loud to Iago strongly undermines the points he is trying to make.
• "She did deceive her father marrying you" "And so she did"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Iago and Othello respectively: Iago subtly gives the concrete proof the he obviously desires, that she has deceived before and thus may deceive again. Othello's jealousy has been awakened by suggestions and word play such as this, conveying to the audience his deep rooted insecurities.
• "I am bound to thee forever"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Othello: By using the word "bound", a past participle of the very "bind", it emphasizes to the audience the restricted and confined nature that Othello is in. He has increasingly become tied to Iago to such an extent that he greatly relies on his thoughts, convictions and judgements. Once again this highlights Othello's loss of identity as the independent and confident war hero that the audience were introduced to at the beginning of the play is lost.
• "Haply for I am black, And have not those soft parts of conversation"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Othello: As soon as doubt of Desdemona's infidelity begins, Othello loses his sense of manhood and begins to be affected by the racial prejudices he had previously shrugged off. His feelings reflect the racist society that he lives in and the audience is left to feel pathos towards the pitiful Othello.
• "She's gone. I am abused and my relief must be to loathe her"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Othello: This statement should be written in the model or conditional tense, however here Shakespeare uses a clear declarative to portray Othello's distress. Hence, this further cements to the audience that in Othello's mind, Desdemona is already guilty. Although he demands "ocular proof", the insecurities he feels from the racial prejudices at the time result in him immediately casting Desdemona as the "_____ of Venice".
• "I nothing but to please his fantasy"
• Act 3 Scene 3 Emilia: This quote again further emphasizes the stereotype of females to please their husbands despite Emilia knowing that what she does his wrong. Her subservience reflect the obedience of all women in the play to their male counterparts.